Mai masks are perhaps the most iconic and identifiable art forms from the Sepik River. They are worn for performances with a group of four dancers on the village’s central dance ground in front of the ngeko ceremonial house. Each performer represents a spirit being—two brothers and their two sisters. After the performance, the costume of leaf strips, flowers, feathers and an array of adornments is dismantled and only the wooden mask section is kept in the owner’s home.

This mai mask is of classical form with undulating tension between the convexity of the facial planes and the graceful arch of the distended nose, which ends with the head of a bird that has clan associations. The narrowness of the mask suggests this mask is male as wider examples represent female spirits.
The mask has eyes of cowry shell and is encrusted with tiny snail shells called maai that give the name to this type of mask. These shells have been worked prior to their careful application so they gently overlap, giving the impression of reptilian scales, and are embedded in the magically significant clay paste yimba. The creation of mai masks and the cultural need for their performance have continued into the twenty-first century. Although many aspects of their nature remain veiled in secrecy, the mai may be danced for all to see, but its importance in the world of the ancestors is kept by only a few initiated men.

Mai masks are perhaps the most iconic and identifiable art forms from the Sepik River. They are worn for performances with a group of four dancers on the village’s central dance ground in front of the ngeko ceremonial house. Each performer represents a spirit being—two brothers and their two sisters. After the performance, the costume of leaf strips, flowers, feathers and an array of adornments is dismantled and only the wooden mask section is kept in the owner’s home.

This mai mask is of classical form with undulating tension between the convexity of the facial planes and the graceful arch of the distended nose, which ends with the head of a bird that has clan associations. The narrowness of the mask suggests this mask is male as wider examples represent female spirits.
The mask has eyes of cowry shell and is encrusted with tiny snail shells called maai that give the name to this type of mask. These shells have been worked prior to their careful application so they gently overlap, giving the impression of reptilian scales, and are embedded in the magically significant clay paste yimba. The creation of mai masks and the cultural need for their performance have continued into the twenty-first century. Although many aspects of their nature remain veiled in secrecy, the mai may be danced for all to see, but its importance in the world of the ancestors is kept by only a few initiated men.